No effects of a single 3G UMTS mobile phone exposure on spontaneous EEG activity, ERP correlates, and automatic deviance detection

Potential effects of a 30 min exposure to third generation (3G) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone-like electromagnetic fields (EMFs) were investigated on human brain electrical activity in two experiments. In the first experiment, spontaneous electroencephalography (sEEG) was analyzed (n = 17); in the second experiment, auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) and automatic deviance detection processes reflected by mismatch negativity (MMN) were investigated in a passive oddball paradigm (n = 26). Both sEEG and ERP experiments followed a double-blind protocol where subjects were exposed to either genuine or sham irradiation in two separate sessions. In both experiments, electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded at midline electrode sites before and after exposure while subjects were watching a silent documentary. Spectral power of sEEG data was analyzed in the delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. In the ERP experiment, subjects were presented with a random series of standard (90%) and frequency-deviant (10%) tones in a passive binaural oddball paradigm. The amplitude and latency of the P50, N100, P200, MMN, and P3a components were analyzed. We found no measurable effects of a 30 min 3G mobile phone irradiation on the EEG spectral power in any frequency band studied. Also, we found no significant effects of EMF irradiation on the amplitude and latency of any of the ERP components. In summary, the present results do not support the notion that a 30 min unilateral 3G EMF exposure interferes with human sEEG activity, auditory evoked potentials or automatic deviance detection indexed by MMN.

[1]  W. Klimesch,et al.  Oscillatory mechanisms of process binding in memory , 2010, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

[2]  I. Winkler,et al.  ‘Primitive intelligence’ in the auditory cortex , 2001, Trends in Neurosciences.

[3]  I. Winkler.  Interpreting the Mismatch Negativity , 2007 .

[4]  R. de Seze,et al.  No effect on cognitive function from daily mobile phone use , 2005, Bioelectromagnetics.

[5]  W. Dimpfel,et al.  The influence of electromagnetic fields on human brain activity. , 1995, European journal of medical research.

[6]  G Stefanics,et al.  Effects of twenty-minute 3G mobile phone irradiation on event related potential components and early gamma synchronization in auditory oddball paradigm , 2008, Neuroscience.

[7]  Peter Achermann,et al.  Pulsed radio frequency radiation affects cognitive performance and the waking electroencephalogram , 2007, Neuroreport.

[8]  Heikki Hämäläinen,et al.  Effects of mobile phone electromagnetic fields: Critical evaluation of behavioral and neurophysiological studies , 2011, Bioelectromagnetics.

[9]  M Hietanen,et al.  Human brain activity during exposure to radiofrequency fields emitted by cellular phones. , 2000, Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health.

[10]  Arnaud Delorme,et al.  EEGLAB: an open source toolbox for analysis of single-trial EEG dynamics including independent component analysis , 2004, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[11]  Peter Achermann,et al.  Pulsed radio‐frequency electromagnetic fields: dose‐dependent effects on sleep, the sleep EEG and cognitive performance , 2007, Journal of sleep research.

[12]  I. Winkler,et al.  Auditory processing that leads to conscious perception: a unique window to central auditory processing opened by the mismatch negativity and related responses. , 2011, Psychophysiology.

[13]  C. C. Duncan,et al.  Event-related potentials in clinical research: Guidelines for eliciting, recording, and quantifying mismatch negativity, P300, and N400 , 2009, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[14]  O. Gandhi.  Electromagnetic fields: human safety issues. , 2002, Annual review of biomedical engineering.

[15]  G. Buzsáki,et al.  Neuronal Oscillations in Cortical Networks , 2004, Science.

[16]  R. Näätänen,et al.  Early selective-attention effect on evoked potential reinterpreted. , 1978, Acta psychologica.

[17]  E. Maby,et al.  Analysis of auditory evoked potential parameters in the presence of radiofrequency fields using a support vector machines method , 2006, Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing.

[18]  C Stough,et al.  The effect of mobile phone electromagnetic fields on the alpha rhythm of human electroencephalogram , 2008, Bioelectromagnetics.

[19]  Risto Näätänen,et al.  No effects of mobile phone use on cortical auditory change‐detection in children: An ERP study , 2009, Bioelectromagnetics.

[20]  T Koenig,et al.  Effects of weak mobile Phone—Electromagnetic fields (GSM, UMTS) on well‐being and resting EEG , 2008, Bioelectromagnetics.

[21]  N. Kuster,et al.  Electromagnetic fields, such as those from mobile phones, alter regional cerebral blood flow and sleep and waking EEG , 2002, Journal of sleep research.

[22]  T. Koenig,et al.  Effects of weak mobile phone—Electromagnetic fields (GSM, UMTS) on event related potentials and cognitive functions , 2008, Bioelectromagnetics.

[23]  Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska,et al.  Effects of UMTS Cellular Phones on Human Hearing: Results of the European Project “EMFnEAR” , 2009, Radiation research.

[24]  R J Croft,et al.  Effects of 2G and 3G mobile phones on human alpha rhythms: Resting EEG in adolescents, young adults, and the elderly , 2010, Bioelectromagnetics.

[25]  Matti Laine,et al.  902 MHz mobile phone does not affect short term memory in humans , 2004, Bioelectromagnetics.

[26]  Yoshikazu Ugawa,et al.  Thirty minutes mobile phone use has no short-term adverse effects on central auditory pathways , 2003, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[27]  Christos N. Capsalis,et al.  Acute mobile phone effects on pre-attentive operation , 2006, Neuroscience Letters.

[28]  V. Jousmäki,et al.  Auditory sensory memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease: an event-related potential study. , 1994, Neuroreport.

[29]  Con Stough,et al.  Examining the effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM mobile phones on human event-related potentials and performance during an auditory task , 2004, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[30]  Risto Näätänen,et al.  Central auditory dysfunction in schizophrenia as revealed by the mismatch negativity (MMN) and its magnetic equivalent MMNm: a review. , 2009, The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology.

[31]  Peter Achermann,et al.  Pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic field affects human sleep and sleep electroencephalogram , 1999, Neuroscience Letters.

[32]  R. Näätänen,et al.  Preattentive auditory information processing under exposure to the 902 MHz GSM mobile phone electromagnetic field: A mismatch negativity (MMN) study , 2009, Bioelectromagnetics.

[33]  Matti Laine,et al.  The effects of electromagnetic field emitted by GSM phones on working memory , 2000, Neuroreport.

[34]  A W Preece,et al.  Effect of a 915-MHz simulated mobile phone signal on cognitive function in man. , 1999, International journal of radiation biology.

[35]  H. Hämäläinen,et al.  No effects of mobile phone electromagnetic field on auditory brainstem response , 2009, Bioelectromagnetics.

[36]  B. Hangya,et al.  Phase Entrainment of Human Delta Oscillations Can Mediate the Effects of Expectation on Reaction Speed , 2010, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[37]  Isabelle Lagroye,et al.  Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on the human nervous system. , 2009, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews.

[38]  P. Korpilahti,et al.  Auditory ERP components and mismatch negativity in dysphasic children. , 1994, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[39]  G. Karmos,et al.  Entrainment of Neuronal Oscillations as a Mechanism of Attentional Selection , 2008, Science.

[40]  Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska,et al.  Absence of Short-Term Effects of UMTS Exposure on the Human Auditory System , 2010, Radiation research.

[41]  R. Näätänen,et al.  The mismatch negativity (MMN): towards the optimal paradigm , 2004, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[42]  Matti Laine,et al.  Effects of 902 MHz electromagnetic field emitted by cellular telephones on response times in humans , 2000, Neuroreport.

[43]  G. Curcio,et al.  Is the brain influenced by a phone call? An EEG study of resting wakefulness , 2005, Neuroscience Research.

[44]  C. Papageorgiou,et al.  Gender related differences on the EEG during a simulated mobile phone signal , 2004, Neuroreport.

[45]  G. Stefanics,et al.  Short GSM mobile phone exposure does not alter human auditory brainstem response , 2007, BMC public health.

[46]  R J Croft,et al.  The sensitivity of human event‐related potentials and reaction time to mobile phone emitted electromagnetic fields , 2006, Bioelectromagnetics.

[47]  Risto Näätänen,et al.  5 The Orienting Reflex and the N2 Deflection of the Event-Related Potential (ERP) , 1983 .

[48]  David L. Braff,et al.  Preattentive Sensory Processing as Indexed by the MMN and P3a Brain Responses is Associated with Cognitive and Psychosocial Functioning in Healthy Adults , 2007, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[49]  Matti Laine,et al.  Effect of a 902 MHz electromagnetic field emitted by mobile phones on human cognitive function: A replication study , 2003, Bioelectromagnetics.

[50]  Peter Achermann,et al.  Sleep EEG alterations: effects of different pulse‐modulated radio frequency electromagnetic fields , 2012, Journal of sleep research.

[51]  E. Valentini,et al.  Psychomotor performance is not influenced by brief repeated exposures to mobile phones , 2008, Bioelectromagnetics.

[52]  A. Starr,et al.  The auditory P50 component to onset and offset of sound , 2008, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[53]  Suresh D Muthukumaraswamy,et al.  Functional properties of human primary motor cortex gamma oscillations. , 2010, Journal of neurophysiology.